Rise Of Chaos - Synyster Intentions
by Danny-ChaosLaTR
Summary: Just after the monks recover from their final Xiaolin Showdown which determined Raimundo as the leader; a new threat enters the fray, with skills and powers beyond that of Chase Young, worse still, they have partnered up. His plans are unclear, even to his allies, but he is determined and he will not rest until all Shen Gong Wu are in his possession for some grand purpose...
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 – Disturbed Balance

The land of nowhere. Its name suited it well, for it is a barren place with but a few withered trees that reek of death and several wild tumbleweed. The ground was incapable of growing anything and there is only one place that is noteworthy; on the outside it looks like a natural cave on a cliff top with the entrance imitating a monsters jaw. It is actually a palace, anybody that has ever entered it, has never made it out to speak of its rumoured wonders.  
The land of nowhere. No one would notice anything unusual to occur here.

And so it appeared, barely visible against the dense black fog and home to the void; A portal of such, circular in shape as though it's mouth is completely open like an alligator's sucking in the air around it and blowing it out at the same time causing an odd gust to stir; and then he materialised from the portal. A man. A man in the land of nowhere that came from nowhere, not completely recognisable against the darkness, he stood up and sighed. A nearby crow then cawed and flew away in fear.  
The sun was starting to come up and the fog cleared, the man was then perceivable. He wore a battered and old leather military coat down to his ankles with a blood red trim and a steel back plate, as well as black boots darker than his unnatural jet black hair that also glistened blood red. His jeans were torn and dirty which made him look older than what his face showed; his face was pale and his hands, gloved with leather and his fingers encased in steel. He had his eyes closed since his arrival and when they finally opened, they revealed blood red irises and a dark shadow beneath his eye sockets appeared once opened as if it was black war paint. He was tall and lean, but his broad shoulders made him look capable of bare-handed murder.  
The man then grinned with his teeth bared and flared nostrils; at this there was a flash on his face and a sort of tattoo appeared momentarily on his face; like crimson stalactites coming from his eyes. The tattoo disappeared and he then began laughing, but it wasn't hysterical; it was almost psychotic and it got louder and louder until it pierced the screaming silence of the surrounding wasteland, disturbing and scaring any life nearby, a laugh that could haunt a soul for eternity.

Once the man's manic laughter had died he held his arm to the sky and thick black smoke appeared in his palm and extended to his elbow and the same length above his hand. The smoke then vanished with a sharp flash of lightning and in the man's hand a scepter had formed. The scepter had a chrome black body with a glowing amber jewel in the upper rod; the hilt was sharp and pointed where the topmost material was shaped as a blade; lethal and eccentric, surrounding the amber jewel.

The shadowed man then looked to the cliff top where the rumoured palace lies and with a strike of lightning it began to rain, it started off light and it got worse, stirring up a storm. The wind howled and whipped at the man's coat and hair while the rain soaked his steel fingers and back, yet the water simply fell from the blade of his scepter. The torrential rain darkened the entire crag and soaked the shadows into hiding, but the man began to walk, ever so calmly as if this was a light shower, and he walked towards the rocky cliff and went around locating a stairwell. It was drenched and nobody scaling it would have any grip under their feet, yet the shady entity walked on and his boots clapped against the splash of the water lying on each step. Every few steps he climbed a bolt of lightning struck different points in the wasteland behind him and the thunder sounded from within the dark clouds. Alas he reached the tongue of the great beast cave and he looked out onto the wasteland and sent a bolt of red lightning into the sky; getting lost in the clouds, the rain ceased.

This new stranger turned his attention to the stone wall behind him and stared at it, still looking as smug as he did when he first opened his eyes in the wasteland, he stared and stared as if he was hoping for it to open up to him without even knocking or approaching it. He closed his eyes again and bowed his head forcing thoughts into his mind. The jewel in his scepter then began to glow and the figure's clothes and hair began to dry rapidly, everything from his heavy boots to his perfect hair; and finally he opened his eyes again and continued to stare at the door in front of him.  
Deep within the hidden domain slept many tigers of the jungle, enhanced by magic and its human occupier, disturbed from his sleep, woke in fear as if he had been awakened from his deepest nightmare. His thoughts are now clouded with a new danger, a danger that just appeared outside his front door.

The sun rose over the rock garden within the Xiaolin temple and the light shined upon the golden autumn leaves of the well-tended willow trees, while the roof shingles glimmered in the sun as they were damp from the heavy rain the night before and the monks in training here at the temple began to awake for their day ahead of them... With the usual exception of Raimundo.  
"Raimundo! Will you ever get up breezy and bright in the mornings?!" exclaimed Omi. "I think you mean bright and breezy" corrected Clay, who is always used to being awake at the crack of dawn. As Raimundo slowly opened his eyes, he couldn't help but groan as Omi's shaved and almost sphere like head was his first sight. Omi was indeed small and arrogant for all his size, he above all others was proud to be a Xiaolin monk and always wore his robes, he had a round shaved head and was always disconnected from the outside world, meaning he always incorrectly repeated idiomatic phrases overheard from Raimundo. Clay on the other hand was quite the opposite, as he was the biggest of the monks both in height and build as he spent a great deal of his life on his father's farm in Texas where he proudly admits, wrestled pigs. Clay is a true Texan and is rarely seen without his cowboy hat, but is furious should something happen to it.  
"Come on, Omi. He needs his rest, he took a beating in that last showdown for us, it did earn him the right of being the leader" Kimiko replied in Raimundo's defence. Kimiko was the only female dragon in training in the Xiaolin temple; she boasts fair black hair and long legs, though they pack a punch in combat; she is always fashionable and quite strong at heart, this is mainly due to her being constantly teased by the others because she is the only girl. She also has a short temper and gets very aggressive when insulted which is a fatal flaw in her training and battles.  
"But that didn't actually happen! It was in a parallel Universe! And must you keep mentioning that, you know how selfish I am and was most disappointed when I didn't get that promotion" complained Omi. He then strutted off into the yard exclaiming that he was going to train with or without the rest of them.  
"Poor Rai" sighed Kimiko.  
"Why do you think that Kimiko? After all, he has now reached the rank of Shoku warrior and also your leader" responded Master Fung as he entered the monk's quarters.  
"No, I'm really happy for him, but...-"  
"You are still thinking of his brave actions in the parallel world" finished Master Fung  
Kimiko was silent. But she sighed in acceptance.  
Master Fung was wise and always has the right thing to say to make the monks not only feel better, but help improve on their meditation. He roams the temple corridors proudly looking like a true Xiaolin warrior with his bald and wrinkled head and greying moustache. Though in combat, his physical attributes are completely disregarded; though it is an extremely rare occasion that they monks see Master Fung fight.

After their training, the monks had gathered in the dining hall for a meal and Raimundo was telling the others of his odd dream, that he had had the night before.  
"I could have sworn it was the land of nowhere, I just don't know why I would get a dream about Chase Young's land" Raimundo explained. The others did not take the dream as serious as Raimundo did.  
"Well maybe you ate too much yesterday and your stomach gave you nightmares" suggested Dojo, "I speak from experience, I have a lot of nightmares involving Chase Young and my stomach"  
Dojo Kanojo Cho is a mystical dragon with the ability of changing his size from a small lizard to a large over-sized, flying serpent. Dojo has a sarcastic view on the world but is also very cowardly.  
"Yea, but Dojo, you start shaking when a spider starts crawling on your back, like right now" said Rai calmly, as he points to behind Dojo. "Like I'm really gonna fall for that one" jittered Dojo as he starts laughing nervously and when he looks at the side of his neck he notices a small hairy leg. The whole dining hall was deafened by Dojo's glass-shattering scream. The monks then left the dining hall in hysterics but are then stopped by Master Fung.  
"Young monks, a new Shen Gong Wu has revealed itself" proclaimed the Master.  
"Yeah… that's why I screamed" explained Dojo, trying to redeem his embarrassing ordeal, as he fell from the ramparts he had jumped to.  
Master Fung continued "Go and prepare yourselves, as this will be your first venture with a leader; I on the other hand must go meditate, I sense a great disturbance in the balance of good and evil… and it does not feel in our favour".  
The team then looked at Rai who waited until Master Fung was out of earshot before opening his mouth, "See you guys! Even Master Fung knows there's something up and it has to do with that dream I had, it felt so real and eerie. You gotta trust me on this one", the others looked at him and accepted it, and all of them then began preparations for their travels for the new Shen Gong Wu.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 - The Alliance Unfolds

At the front door to the only inhabitable structure in the Land of Nowhere, the mysterious man that appeared in the night knocked with the end of his scepter. He did not get a pleasant welcome. Ten tigers fell from the roof of the cave and began growling at him.  
The man did not move. He was neither intimidated nor startled by the jungle cats; he looked to the door and knocked again with a bored and empty look on his face. The tigers then attacked, all pouncing at once with such ferocity clawing at him with vicious claws and blade-like teeth. The man was too quick, however, and with his scepter, he moved fast and spun the scepter rapidly before the cats could get close enough. Moving it in the direction, of which the tigers pounced from, blew the large cats back, hearing the distinct sound of cracking as they landed. They were strong however and got back up, roaring in anguish prepping for another pass. Once again the shadowy stranger swept every single predator away and sent powerful and alien-like blasts at them from his scepter which he had balanced on his shoulders as he spun on the spot. Swiftly, he leaped from where he stood into the hole where the jungle cats emerged. It was a narrow pathway poorly lit and he wedged his blade into the passage's roof and pulled down as he stepped back, falling back to the ledge where the door was located.

The man approached the large door once more whipping dust off his shoulder, and knocked as the passage above him was filled with rubble as well as some making its way down beside him; this time, it opened for him. The strange man then entered the palace of legends, the place where Chase Young lives. As the man in black went deeper into the palace he couldn't help but compliment the beauty of his surroundings, the parlour had huge crashing waterfalls, taller than the cliff the entrance it stood on top of, with large palm trees emitting a humid and pleasant temperature. Each step on the staircase leading into the dojo was gleaming and reflective, almost like walking on blue stained mirrors while the opposing columns were elegantly decorated with smooth spiral designs and Chinese figures. The oversized hall was circular in size and less beautiful than the stairwell as the large carpet had a spiked trimming and the glistening blue flames cackled on the dark walls; many of the opposite rooms were similar to this and almost like a labyrinth. Alas he found someone standing in a room by a grand decorated throne with red leather for comfort, and the young man standing by it seemed like he was being patient, like he was... Waiting.

This someone was Chase Young, he was a young man with long wavy and silky hair, and just as black as his guest's; but natural, even though he was not. He wore plated armour which was light and suiting as Chase was very lean; he also had cat-like eyes, a narrow slit shaped pupil in each eye accompanied by illuminous yellow irises. From the legends that surrounded the palace and Chase Young, it was rumoured that he is a skilled Xiaolin monk who was turned to the dark side by another evil, greater than him at the time but overthrown and reduced to a weak form, incapable of dealing out physical pain. The shadowed man then spoke "Are you Chase Young, supposed prince of darkness and all that?" there was emphasis on the word 'supposed'.  
Chase replies with an eerily soothing voice, "I am, but the real question is; who are you?"  
"No-one of Interest. Not yet at least" replied the shady man. He paced about the room and arrived at a pedestal where a sort of helmet sat; he picked it up and examined it, then replaced it. Chase watched him very closely while he did this.  
"But.." responded Chase, "I'm particularly interested in you because you have power enough to wake me from my slumber when you first arrived into the Land Of Nowhere from another dimension and you also managed to knock my... Friends, unconscious and tear down a section of a ceiling within the space of thirty seconds. So, I'll ask you again stranger, who are you?"  
The man hesitated. But soon answered, unwillingly almost. "Alright, since you asked so nicely, I'll tell you. My name is Synyster and I have come here in search of power" He spun his scepter twice and then pointed it directly at Chase as he finished his sentence.  
"Power?" Chase Questioned. Eyebrow's raised.  
"Yes, power. I don't think it's a coincidence that I arrive in the Land of Nowhere"  
"Why is that? Because I live here?"

"And why would that be so wrong?"  
"Because, you don't belong in this world!" The statement echoed the room, Synyster waiting for it to stop before replying.  
"Well, I know that better than anyone. But it will not stop my quest"  
Chase hesitated and sat in his throne before replying.  
"And why would you come here, to me? When my power is not so easily stolen."  
The stranger, Syn, answered. "The Shen Gong Wu is what I am after. Do you not have some? Like the Wushan Geyser sitting on that platform right there?"  
Chase raised his eyebrow, stood up again and turned his back, "We have a lot to discuss, such as how you even know the exact name of that particular Shen Gong Wu". "Indeed but first, if you would be so kind, a meal? Inter-dimensional travel wears on the mortal body"

Chase looked offended almost, but proceeded to the next room where the stranger followed of his own accord looking smug.

After a fine meal and a conversation that seemed to last an eternity for Chase, the two men came to an alliance. "So as you possess more Shen Gong Wu, you will become more powerful?" asked Chase.  
"Precisely, similar to the creature Mala Mala Jong but better" confirmed Syn. But Chase was wary. "We won't be the only ones looking for them...-"  
"Oh, do not fear Chase. I am well aware of the competition: the Xiaolin monks, Wuya, Jack and Hannibal. None of them will be a problem, as a matter of fact, I have plans for each one of them except the monks as they will be unwilling to help" Syn and Chase then exchanged menacing glances and started to grin, acknowledging that the alliance is formed. "This will be the start of something magnificently villainous" proclaimed Chase as he poured wine into two glasses. The two men clanged their glasses together and drank, in celebration. Chase then spoke and grew weak looking, dropping his glass and smashing it. Syn looked troubled but Chase stood up quickly and said firmly "We must leave immediately; a new Shen Gong Wu has revealed itself" Syn looked overjoyed and bounced up from his chair and retrieved his scepter and jacket which he had removed from his person during the meal, "This is an excellent opportunity, we must head out at once; you know what they say, first impressions are everything"

Chase looked confused as they walked towards the exit, "You intend to meet the monks?"

Synyster halted and looked to Chase, "Of course I am, they must realise that they don't stand a chance against us now, they will fall if they don't join us" he smirked.

"I have been down that route, and so has Wuya; they will not be infatuated by evil again"

"They won't have to, once we obtain the Ying and Yang Yo-yo's, we will bring out their true evil. All of them. So then there will be no-body to stop us, now let us go retrieve the new Shen Gong Wu."

"The Draco's Choke is the new Shen Gong Wu" yelled Clay as the monks rode on Dojos back high in the sky as each of the monks were windswept and clinging desperately to the great dragons scaly back. Clay was the only one that could read the Scroll of the Shen Gong Wu on Dojos back this high as he was the heaviest and didn't need to grasp on to him just to stay on. "The Draco's Choke lets us breath fire like a dragon, or like we swallowed a whole bottle of my uncle's homemade Barbecue sauce" continued Clay.  
"I could use that" responded Dojo, "The Barbecue, not the Shen Gong Wu encase you were confused. 'Cause I already am a dragon and all that. Mm, Barbecue"

"Dojo, you can't even breathe fire without my uncle's homemade barbeque sauce" roared Clay, Dojo was hesitant in his response and eventually said, "Thanks Clay. Was trying to forget that painful aspect of my already humiliating life"  
As the monks landed on a dead mountainside with the smell of ash hanging in the air, some strange sound could be heard and it was similar to miniature helicopter rotors. Jack Spicer appeared. "Guess what losers, you're too late. The Draco's Choke is mine" gloated Jack.  
Jack Spicer was an over confident young boy who proclaimed himself as an 'evil boy genius'. Jack also commands an army of useless Robots that never seem to end. In truth however, Jack is a coward when someone more powerful than him (which is basically anybody) threatens him. Jack is always seen wearing a long dark black trench coat with odd eccentric designs at the bottom; and he also wears thick make-up, making his face appear pure white with black markings beneath his eyes, in appearance, a typical Goth. But he had deep red hair that clearly wasn't natural and always had strange goggles with a yellow lens and red spiral on them on his head and rarely uses them.  
While the monks watched him laugh Rai decided to lead and make a move. He used his dragon element of Wind and his Wudai weapon to attack. "Blade of the Nebula, Wind!" yelled Raimundo, in order to activate his weapon.  
A blast of wind was summoned from the end of Raimundo's eccentric sky blue blade and sent Jack flying far into the distance though his girly screams could still be heard even though they got more faint; dropping the Shen Gong Wu in the process. It fell off the edge of a small cliff and clanked down part of the dead rock that surrounded the area.  
"I'll get it" exclaimed Clay as he jumped down from the small peak. However, as he landed he panicked. Chase Young was holding the Draco's Choke, and his new ally was standing behind him, back turned and wielding his scepter pointed to the ground. The other monks joined Clay and they all looked shocked as the dust kicked up around their feet after landing. In his hands the Draco's Choke appeared to be like a small steel plate with a dragon scale design and the edges looked rough and winged like a dragon.  
"Chase!" He snapped "Don't be rude. Introduce me to our feeble rivals" smirked Synyster.  
"It is you who is feeble, stranger" Defended Omi as he stood prepped for battle. "And who are you exactly?" he asked in a confused high-pitched voice.  
"Chase. Please do the honours, I really do feel like I waste my breath by introductions, and unfortunately, I plan on making a lot of them within the next few years" complained Syn, massaging his temple.  
"Very well" replied Chase. "This, my young monks, is my ally. He goes by the name of Synyster and is a formidable force. If there was ever a time to join me, it would be now" grinned Chase. He was in absolute glee having being allied with this shady character.  
"Who cares? You talk pretty big for a guy about to get their ass handed to them" threatened Rai and then pointed at Synyster "That goes for you too, tough guy"  
The monks then gathered in formation to battle while Syn took the Draco's Choke from Chase and prepared to use it pushing Chase aside slightly but ensuring he is still battle ready.  
Clay mounted the first attack with his seismic kick raising spiked rocks in the direction of Chase and Syn coming out of the ground beginning to emerge rapidly at Clay's feet and continuing moving towards the two ally's, each spike looking more deadly than the last. It wasn't long before the spikes were inches from Chase, but he jumped to avoid it almost floating in the sky before falling, but Syn used the Shen Gong Wu in the meantime. "Draco's Choke!" roared Syn and then the Shen Gong Wu attached itself to Syn's neck and expanded to cover his mouth giving it a very reptilian appearance before emitting a roar, next he became like a ghost. He walked out from the fully formed spikes and Chase landed beside him. The monks were in shock, "Hey, how did you do that?" complained Kimiko. Syn began to explain, "The Draco's Choke Shen Gong Wu not only allows the user to breath fire, like a dragon. But also to speak the dragon language and use other powers that the dragons had in days of old, not you though Dojo, you are a puny new generation dragon with a serious lack of your true heritage, it's quite shameful really". Rai was frustrated and tried to attack, but this time the Draco's Choke Summoned a small Icy storm and froze the compact twister Raimundo was creating.  
Puzzled, the monks then tried to attack all at once, but were soon blown back from another voice from the new Shen Gong Wu, smacking the monks to the ground with a powerful force. As the monks lay on the ground groaning in pain and defeat, the two villains looked at each other and held up another Shen Gong Wu; "Shard of Lightning" the pair shouted, when the monks came to, they were gone.

The monks got up moaning and groaning in pain, helping each other as well, "Didn't we have the Shard of Lightning?" croaked Clay as he got up from the small crater he fell into. "That's what I thought" said Raimundo, standing on top of a low cliff looking into the distance. "This dude must be the real deal, he knew more about that Shen Gong Wu than the scroll, I told you guys I had a weird dream"

Omi then rolled about and got up doing that, once up he had an upset expression. "But how is that possible? Surely the great scroll of the Shen Gong Wu should everything about the Shen Gong Wu" stuttered Omi.

Rai gazed down and simply said "I don't know, we'll figure it out. Come on, let's get outta here Dojo". But Dojo was only waking up now, plucking himself from a rock he had been embedded into with the force of the blast leaving an exact mould of him in it.  
"What in the name of Dashi just happened" exclaimed Dojo.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 - A Visit From Another Evil

Back at the Chase Young's Palace, the two villains had gathered in the dining hall for a feast, it was a large circular room with a huge circular table covered in fine and exquisite food and drinks. The ceiling was actually a large glass dome but the scenery changed outside, or so it appeared to. "A toast!" proclaimed Chase "To an alliance that cannot possibly fail" he said happily. "It has to be better than the others anyway" he whispered.  
Synyster also stood and raised his glass, as they drank their wine and indulged in the fine food Chase had prepared, Wuya walked in the room and looked at Chase dreamily as she always does, leaning against a pillar but she then noticed the stranger and began raving and ranting. "Chase!? What's going on here? Who is that?" Her attention was then taken by the new Shen Gong Wu on the table. "And when did you get the Draco's Choke?" this time she spoke seductively and dreamily. "You ask too many questions, Wuya". He said this with his head in his palm. "But if you must know, this is my new ally, Synyster. He is powerful and wise, and knows about the Shen Gong Wu as much as Dashi" at this last statement Wuya grinned.  
"Ah, of course, Synyster, nice to meet you" she responded gently. She then walked over to him and leaned on his shoulders. "So tell me all you know about the Shen Gong Wu, I'm interested" she laughed.  
Syn hesitated and looked at Chase with a glare of cynicism.  
Syn began to speak to Wuya as he peeled an apple with the blade of his scepter, shrunk down to the size of a cane. "Do you really think the seductive charm of a fifteen hundred year old witch will work on anybody, let alone me? But if you do wish to know more, I'll tell you. That is if you help Chase and I locate all of them...-"  
"Oh, it'd be my...-" started Wuya  
"You didn't let me finish. Providing that you help me and Chase find all of the Shen Gong Wu for me!" Wuya looked horrified at this as Synyster stood tall and looked down on her as he spoke. "Then I'll tell you about them, or perhaps convince Chase to give you some of your power back" Her reaction changed at these words. "But only some of it"  
Once Wuya left to consider her offer Syn took a bite of his apple while Chase pulled him aside and whispered to him "If I give Wuya her power back, she'll destroy everything...-"  
"But that's why you're not going to give her power back" spat Syn. Chase looked confused. "I only said that so she can help gather some Shen Gong Wu for us. She's still more useful to us like this than as an annoying floating head. This apple tastes horrible by the way… When I have all the Shen Gong Wu, I'll use them to draw Wuya to the Xiaolin temple where the monks will trap her in a puzzle box... Again. For now she will be our pawn, and not our only one"  
Chase looked satisfied, but it didn't last as his rage returned when he heard the cry of an eagle. "Hannibal" he groaned. Syn rested his hand on his shoulder and said softly, "Speaking of pawns"  
The black bird Ying-Ying flew through a window and landed on a balcony railing as Chase walked into the centre of his throne room. "What do you want Hannibal?"  
Hannibal Roy Bean was one of the most evil beings in the world, but he was all but the size of a bean. He looked like a rotten bean at that, with crooked yellow teeth and vile hairs sprouting from his head he combed over. "I have a proposal for you Chase" he answered.  
"Really. The last time you came to me with a proposal I turned to the Heylin ways and left all I ever believed in"  
"Would you do it again if you went back to that moment in history"  
Chase smirked "Most likely. But to business, what is your proposal?"  
"An alliance. We team up and raid the monks temple, taking their Shen Gong Wu while showing 'em how Evil gets a job done"  
Chase grinned and replied, "I would agree, but I have made an alliance with a more powerful force, but let's hear what he has to say, to be fair you haven't even met him yet. Intriguing fellow, packs a mean scepter and extensive knowledge of the Shen Gong Wu"  
Hannibal was confused and turned around as Syn began to speak on the balcony where the bird had landed. "I believe that the assistance of such a puny creature would make little difference to an assault on the Xiaolin Temple" Hannibal still looking shocked jumped from his bird and used his Moby Morpher Shen Gong Wu to increase his size. Syn stood back, still looking smug. "Now, just who are you calling puny, I could still throttle you 'til you bleed through your eye sockets, punk " threatened Hannibal. Syn sighed and held up his scepter, in which the jewel glowed. Hannibal then shrunk back down to his normal size and landed on Ying-Ying. "That's an interesting Shen Gong Wu you possess, Hannibal. Just a little heads-up, I'm gathering all of the Shen Gong Wu. Today you get a free pass, but I will come to collect the Moby Morpher from you one day. So don't get too attached" Syn grinned, he then held up the Draco's Choke and said something in dragon language and Ying-Ying flew away. As Hannibal flew away Synyster shouted up to him, "You gonna crawl into my tear ducts to make me bleed through them?"  
Synyster looked down on Chase. He looked impressed and left the throne room for his private quarters. Syn examined the scepter; the jewel glowed slightly as he held the Draco's Choke. He smirked and left for his room within the palace, which in truth was really the roof.

Synyster lay against the hard stone pike on the roof comfortably, but then began to fade into sleep; clutching his scepter even more tightly and it shimmered in the half-light of the dimmed surroundings.

_Syn found himself in a large hall with a stage at the front and two exits at the opposite end of the large room. He wasn't himself as he was wearing light blue jeans and a white shirt with a black splatter skull design, the stage hosted many cables and musical instruments such as guitars and drums hooked up to huge towered amps. It was poorly lit and the floor was a dark colour, as were the walls and seated balconies, this was clearly a concert hall._

_He walked around and as he focused more, he noticed that he was in a sort of limbo as all the objects around him, including his hands, appeared to be blurred in a sense; a voice drew his attention away from this and he turned around to see a ghostly figure in front of the stage. By the stature of the figure, it was obvious it was a woman. She had dark black hair and tight black leggings which were stained and tore, as was the plain black top she wore. _

_Her head was down so her face could not be made out but it was clear she was unhappy and her hands were up to her face, though they couldn't be distinguished behind her long dark hair. The same voice sounded and Syn got a heard it better; it was more like a whisper, silent but cut through him like an echo in a mountain cave. This was nothing compared to the word that was spoke. "Why?" the woman whispered again. Syn suddenly felt guilt-ridden and fell on one knee grasping his head with the pain it caused. It was like a screeching sound was constantly droning in his ear, attempting to burst his ear-drums. The pain was like a hot point searing into his back, right against his spine causing agony like no other. _

_It stopped all of a sudden and when he looked up the woman was lying on the floor all curled up, whimpering. He rushed to her and noticed she was still repeating the same word, "Why?" There was a bang and the doors behind him opened and suddenly he and the girl were swarmed with phantoms that all looked the same and had no identity, crowding him and the girl, now screeching the word with the arrival of the phantoms. "WHY?" In the crowd of dark phantoms came a glance of light. It was visible in between the legs of the phantoms, and then it became clear as the phantoms parted to one side. It was another phantom but it was bright orange and it too had a voice, more soothing and feminine, but eerie as well. It spoke too, saying "Don't do this". As this phantom got closer, the woman on the floor cried harder and screamed the word, "WHY? WHY? WHY?!" and as the phantom and the woman touched everything faded but Syn himself. Still on one knee frozen with the shock of what happened before fainting. As the darkness surrounded him a deep and dark voice spoke to him, "You already have the seed… now to unlock it" _

Syn awoke and thought to himself, "That was inaccurate. Not even the right format; it was more a dream of sorts, I wasn't an observer. If I want answers; I have to go back further. These visions won't be useful if I can't make sense of them, I could identify two key people there, but it was unclear and probably a figment of my hearts intentions. I'll ignore that one; I'll call it a tester. If Victor saw what I just saw… oh-boy". Syn sloped against the pike and fell to its base, "And I have the seed it seems, one step closer, then" He placed the scepter down while closing his eyes and losing consciousness.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 - A Most Humiliating Defeat

Back at the Xiaolin temple, the monks had just made it back and walked through the door, all heads hung with shame. Master Fung was walking by and asked them how things went, even though he could tell by how they walked that the answer was not good. Dojo was the first to respond. "Don't even ask… it was tragic. By the way, that ancient scroll isn't very accurate! It didn't mention that the Draco's Choke allows the user to speak dragon language!" Master Fung looked worried, and spoke. "Do not fear young monks. We cannot expect to win them all at first, but we will gather all the Shen Gong Wu eventually. For through failure we learn humility and can improve our skills for the next battle"  
The monks looked less sad, expect Raimundo. He left for his quarters. "Poor Rai" said Kimiko. "That was our first time out with him as the chosen leader; he must feel like he let us down". Master Fung replied, "Never fear Kimiko, I chose Raimundo for a reason. He has a strong will and shall always redeem himself if he feels it needs done." Kimiko still wasn't happy but all the monks left for their beds as Dojo climbed upon Master Fungs shoulders. "So about the scroll?" Dojo badgered. "Please Dojo, have some respect, but I do wish to discuss the lack of information on the Draco's Choke with you and the other elders"  
"Yea, I know. But, Master, Chase Young's new buddy knew more about the Draco's choke than me"  
Master Fung became hesitant. "Chase Young's new buddy?"  
"Yeah, some shady guy; dressed in all black; carried a lethal looking scepter with him and had piercing red eyes. He's like the guy that would have inspired Dashi to make the Shadow of Fear. And that, is saying something considering I know what inspired him to make the Shadow of Fear" Master Fung looked even more worried.  
Hidden in the rafters above, Rai gasped and almost fell. He realised that Dojo's description matched that of his nightmare. It was him in the dream; he didn't recognise him because the dream scenery was dark and murky where he fitted in. And like a flash, Raimundo remembered the dream he had; the dark scenery of the Land of Nowhere, the dead and crusted earth where withered and cold tree trunks had grown, and between them and the eerie mist of the dream, the shadow of a man, the man they had just met.

Later in the kitchen while doing their chores, Raimundo explained to the others about his dream again and that it was the same person that used the Draco's Choke. "I'm telling you guys, there's gotta be a reason" Rai pleaded. Omi responded first, dramatically. "Maybe it wasn't a nightmare, but a vision!"  
The rest of the monks looked sceptical. Omi expanded then, "Raimundo is now a Shoku warrior, maybe having visions is a new ability of his and that the man we fought is the same man in Raimundo's dream"  
"That's what I've been trying to say, it's the same guy and my drea- Vision, gives off a really bad vibe about him, frightening really" exclaimed Rai.  
"I dunno partner, it seems a little strange. It's giving me a headache worse than the time I fell off a cattle when I was six" said Clay.  
Kimiko added, "Okay, so if Rai can now have visions, that's great. But now that it's happened and we've meet this guy and he wailed on us; how do we stop him? He's allied with Chase Young too, which makes him even stronger"  
"I'm not sure" sighed Raimundo. "But I don't think Chase is in charge anymore of things anymore"

"What's that supposed to mean?" shrieked Dojo from the table behind them.

Raimundo stopped momentarily and answered, "Chase Young only came to collect Shen Gong Wu that would hinder us or just to get the chance to wail on us. And none of those two reasons is why he was there today; he barely said anything apart from boasting his new ally. Plus this Synyster guy is pretty strong and even worse... knowledgeable"

"A very dangerous combination for an evil-doer" finished Kimiko looking bereaved.

"Well I for one, have no fear" Omi said proudly. When the others looked at him in doubt, he finished "Because we have each other and Raimundo to guide us"

Raimundo smiled for a moment, but the knowledge of the deadly new foe set in his mind stopped him from being cheerful.

"This Shen Gong Wu is completely worthless" proclaimed Syn as he lifted the Cat's Ear Shen Gong Wu from its pedestal in the hollow. The hollow was slightly deep and had a path to a central platform; the rest of the floor was covered in a light eerie mist. The surrounding area was a ruin and the walls of the hollow were covered in vines and dull leaves that looked ready to crumble.  
"Maybe so, but it still contains some magical power that will give us- I mean you, power" added Wuya. "Let's just leave before the monks show up" As she finished her sentence a cannon sounded and Clay lay in the base of the hollow shaking the earth, the shock caused Synyster to let go of the Shen Gong Wu and it flew into the air. Next thing, the glowing Cat's Ear was seen through the mist. Two hands lay on it, one belonged to Syn, and the other was Clay.  
"Synyster, I challenge you to a Xiaolin Showdown, you dirty snake" exclaimed Clay. The other monks and Wuya gathered around as the terms where being discussed. "I accept" hissed Syn. "I wager the Draco's Choke against your Cannon Blaster, first one to escape the hollow wins". Clay and Syn stared into each other's eyes with a flaming hatred. "All righty then, let's go..."  
"Xiaolin Showdown!"  
"Xiaolin Showdown!"  
The environment suddenly began to change. The depths of the hollow became deeper and deeper still, the sides expanded out and became covered in scalable vines and some platforms raised up from the pit emerging from the mist at the bottom, vines were also stretched across the width of the hollow. Syn and Clay then appeared on the lowest two platforms and looked down to see a dense fog which seemed bottomless. It was clear that if a competitor fell into the fog, the Showdown would end.  
Clay was dressed in his usual battle robes with his elemental symbol on this chest, with some fabric covering his lower face. His eyes we're still visible, but they were squinted with rage. Syn also had a different get-up; his fingers which were normally bare through his fingerless gloves were plated in steel like a knights gauntlet and the same steel had warped itself around his leg. But his face was also changed… it was tattooed; there appeared to be deep crimson patterns around his eyes, cheeks and mouth; it was an unusual design but it was sharp and dark, it gave off a truly evil appearance. And as if that wasn't enough, Synyster turned to face Clay just as his eyes had turned black, all of his eyes; as well as this, his hair had grown longer and automatically styled so that it was spiked outwards with blood red streaks visible in each spike, similarly to that of a hedgehog. As the two competitors stood they shouted, "Gong Yi Tanpai!" Syn was the first to act with a dirty move using the Draco's Choke to abruptly push Clay off the edge of his platform, but he managed to grab on to the ledge safely and pull himself up.  
"No good, dirt bag" he mumbled as he struggled up. Syn had already jumped onto the vines, cackling, and had manipulated his scepters' shape into a hook to allow for easier climbing.  
Clay took a risky move and used the Cannon Blaster as a head start; he grabbed on to another platform higher up below some vines and began climbing from there. The two competitors scaled the vines quickly; Clay was struggling slightly whereas Syn looked elegant as he cackled leaping from vine to vine and platform to platform. He then landed on one of the last platforms looking down. "Let's make things interesting, shall we" he growled silently. He pointed his scepter towards Clay and sent a small flame in his direction. The flame then became a wildfire as it made contact with the vines, burning all the greenery in its path leaving Clay without a gripping. Clay groaned as the fire burned and he summoned a huge boulder out of the wall below him and landed on it, however once he looked up he noticed that Syn already had the Cat's Ear in his hands just outside of the hollow.  
The environment then went back to its natural form and Clay lay next to the pedestal looking like a disappointment. Syn and Wuya soon fled using the Shard of Lightning, while Dojo transformed allowing the monks to board. "Don't feel so bad big guy, this defeat means that when you do kick his ass, it'll feel great" said Rai in a comforting attempt. "Well that's does actually make me feel a little better, Partner. Thanks Rai", Clay said enthusiastically.

Back in throne room of Chase's palace, the villains assessed their Shen Gong Wu and their usefulness. "You could have lost the Cat's Ear and it would have made no difference to the progression of the monks, or us" stated Chase. Synyster replied, "But I didn't want to lose the Draco's Choke either, it is best if we slowly dwindle the number of their Shen Gong Wu, but I feel that we may have to steal some of their Shen Gong Wu"  
Wuya was ecstatic about the idea, but disappointed when Chase dismissed it. "That would cause an act of war, meaning they could come here with a good reason. No, we must win the Shen Gong Wu in Xiaolin Showdowns, by the way, was that not your first Showdown?"  
"It was indeed" Syn responded  
"How did you find the experience?" inquired Chase as he stood up.  
"The sudden change in scenery startled me, but the event itself was nothing special"  
"I see, and if you feel that way, why do you collect the Shen Gong Wu? If that is how you felt about your first Showdown, then you can clearly handle more power than just them. Your body can withstand great forces capable of such destruction on a universal scale, why start here?"  
Syn hesitated, "All will be revealed... All in good time. Now back to business, who has the Hidoku Mouse?" Chase looked down at the floor and massaged his forehead and finally replied. "The idiot, Jack Spicer, dropped it when we were underground and it is most likely lying somewhere at the centre of the planet. To retrieve it, we would require either the Golden Tiger Claws and the Black Beetle or the Serpents Tail on its own. We have none of these Shen Gong Wu, unfortunately"  
Syn put his hand on Chase's shoulder and said gently, "That can be easily changed, just let us know when our... Act of war can be undertaken"  
Chase smirked.

Jack Spicer's lair was nothing more than his rich father's basement that was the length and breadth of the house above, allowing for him to build his endless army of bots. It was dark and murky, with the occasional oil drip from the ceiling like a hanging corpse drips blood onto unsuspecting passer-by's. Jack's "lair" was as pathetic as he is, the table in the middle was lit well by a large bright bulb hanging above and the walls were not even visible due to the piles of scrap metal stacked to the ceiling, some of the bots still operational, just not functional, others were simply unfinished. It was messy and dirty, not to mention wreaked of sweat and gasoline; it was a poor "lair" but for someone like Jack, it was perfect.

Jack himself lay underneath a dune buggy with the normal Jack Spicer decoration and style. He lay there tightening a bolt and muttered curses at every turn of the wrench until the bolt shattered and suddenly began oozing oil onto his face. Jack slid out from underneath the buggy and was greeted with Hannibal Bean, prompted against Jacks boot. He still screamed when he saw him after cleaning his face from oil.

"Jack, you gotta stop all this screaming business, you're gonna burst somebody's eardrums someday. Or everybody's." said Hannibal.

Despite this, Jack shrieked his reply, "What you want, you crazy bean person? And how did you get in here?"

Hannibal covered his ear for a moment before answering, "You ain't very good at listening, are you. Here's the deal, squirm; I'm no longer in charge of anything… for now at least. But I'm here 'cause I got a message from an accomplice of Chase's. He said that you best be prepared to do what's necessary to take down the monks and join the true forces of evil of your own free will. The boss has plans for you and everybody else; he knows exactly how this will turn out, one way or another. You don't mess with this guy, just stick to the message I gave you"

Hannibal walked to a large wall of scrap and then crawled through a hole and was gone. Jack sat up and got lost in thought confused, before concluding that the message was an attempt to put him off his game and decided to ignore it.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 - Evil Gets Even

"So what's the next Shen Gong Wu, Wuya?" asked Syn as he passed through a small passage. He, Wuya and Chase were making their way towards the next Shen Gong Wu that has revealed itself. The villains were travelling in a long passage way in different assortments of felled tree trunks covered in moss and overgrown plant-life which merged with rocky paths. There were occasional drips and drabs of water, seeping through hollow trunks. Rays of light pierced through gaps in the trunks that insects inside the trunk avoided, while Synyster did the same. The ambient sounds in the distance made it very clear that they were in a rainforest like environment, hence the excess rainwater seeping into the interior of the trunk, with the occasional squeal of a monkey or the roar of a panther, echoing throughout the jungle.

"It is the Raven's Tailfeathers, a Shen Gong Wu that allows its user to soar through the sky leaving behind a black cloud trail, part of the cloud also covers whoever uses it in flight, preventing any sort of storm or natural occurrence to knock them down" Syn looked to the sun as he climbed out of the small rock passage in the jungle. He held out his hand to assist Wuya and said "This is a crucial Shen Gong Wu for me to receive, if the monks possess it, then I will raid the temple, with or without you" The statement was directed to both Chase and Wuya. "Then we will make sure that they do not get it to begin with, but may I ask why it is so crucial to you?" Chase sneered.

Synyster replied promptly, "It will allow an excellent means for real time transportation that may bode in my favour if the monks challenge me to a showdown with race like features"

As the trio approached the location they saw robotic rubble lying around and sparking wires flailing about in heaps around the clearing. "It appears that the monks have got the Shen Gong Wu and had the opportunity to give Jack a little taste of power, the boy is an embarrassment to evil. That should change shortly, once you execute your plan Synyster" As Wuya spoke, Chase approached the branch where the Shen Gong Wu once lay and felt the wood. "Except the monks do not have the Raven's Tailfeathers. Jack does".  
"What?!" exclaimed Wuya and Syn almost simultaneously. Chase explained, "There is no sign that the surroundings have been altered by a Xiaolin Showdown and the remains of his robots still lay, where as a Showdown would have caused them to disappear. Plus, if the monks had it, there would be more broken robots"  
Syn looked frustrated and snarled as he looked around, finally he spoke, "I will not have some pathetic child possess the Raven's Tailfeathers! It's an embarrassment!" he kicked a fallen tree trunk and it rose into the sky and landed on its opposite side causing some birds to flee, just as he walked over to another tree and smashed his fist into the side of a large trunk and it cracked and rippled before it began to lean to one side, ready to fall on the three wanderers.  
"Then we shall go to Jack's lair and take the Shen Gong Wu from him, along with any other interesting Wu he has" Chase added. Syn looked at Chase with a psychotic look of happiness, "And you approve of this?" he hissed as he glided over to Chase, staring directly into his eyes, merely centimetres away from his own. The three looked back and forth at each other and eventually Chase nodded. "Ha! Then what are we waiting for?" shrieked Syn. Synyster went and stood behind the tree he had punched earlier and as Wuya and Chase walked he drove his scepter straight into the core and pushed the blade upwards with aggression; resulting in the tree soaring up and splitting into thousands of pieces falling to the earth and just as the largest landed next to Syn, he turned and walked away.

The trio had arrived at Jack's lair, his house, and prepared to breach. "On three, we break down the wall" commanded Syn as they stood by the wall which leads to Jack's workshop. "Three!" he roared, smirking as he engaged.  
And with a crash the wall had collapsed into thousands of small pieces as the three villains kicked it. Jack stood shaking at the far wall with his collar just below his mouth and holding onto the Monkey Staff fiercely with dampness under his eyes while he wept like a lost pup. "Chase? WH-what can I...? Do for ya?" Jack yelped as Chase Young approached the squirming idiot. Chase looked down on Jack and spoke, "Relax, worm, I'm not here to harm you" he assured Jack who then stood tall and said "Well that's a relieve... That means I can hurt you! Mikado Arm!" Jack then gained immense upper body strength and struck Chase, sending him back to his entry point. Jack then swung his arms as the witch and the warriors attacked. It looked awkward as it may have been Jack's first physical fight. Syn made a move, but was pushed back, snarling he aimed his scepter and a shot of energy flew from it, landing on Jack's right jaw. But he got up again and started swinging his arms like an idiot. Wuya and Chase tried to grab hold of his arms and put him down, all with failed efforts. The already untidy basement was just getting worse as when Jack made contact with something the walls would shake and metal would fall from the roof and walls. Syn jumped like a cheetah from one pile of rubble to another and even from the walls to the roof; he tried to get a good shot of Jack so he could attack, and one arose as Syn jumped behind jack and grabbed him by the head with one hand and flung him into the wall behind.

He was then on the ground groaning and screaming, he went silent when the trio stood over him. Chase put his hand over Jack and forced the Mikado Arm Shen Gong Wu to deactivate and fly into Chase's Hands, while Syn searched the surroundings for the Raven's Tailfeathers. "This place is a bloody mess Jack, how do you even keep everything stored here?" Syn complained as he pulled robot parts out of everywhere looking for the Tailfeathers. At last he found them propped against a large toolbox. Syn took the Shen Gong Wu and nodded to the others, knowing that he got what he came for. Jack then sat up and asked "Why didn't you take the Monkey Staff?"  
Wuya replied, "Because we don't need it at the minute, but don't worry Jack, we will come to get it from you" before she turned away, she blew him a kiss with an actual physical form which he then jumped to avoid, scared of course.  
Syn then walked out into the open garden wielding his scepter and the Raven's Tailfeathers and smirked. "I'm sure you two can find your own way back to the palace, I want to test this Shen Gong Wu out first. Raven's Tailfeathers!" and he shot into the sky leaving behind a black smoke, his distinct cackling laugh was heard as he flew. Wuya and Chase exchanged looks and began walking.  
Left to his own loneliness, Jack stuttered to himself, "I'll just clean this all up then, yeah...? Okay, your busy, I can do it"

In the centre of the Arctic Circle, under the ice lay the Silver Manta Ray Shen Gong Wu in full use with the Xiaolin monks inside with their teeth chattering and clothed up until they could barely move. Dojo returned from the back of the cockpit covered in oil mumbling about Master Dashi. "S-s-o, did you g-get it f-fixed or w-what?" asked Raimundo. Dojo turned around from the pilot's seat and stared at Rai with an enraged expression, scaring Raimundo and finally replied, "Of course I did" dojo said joyfully, scratching his now ice hardened beard. The Shen Gong Wu began moving again towards the deepest part of the huge icicle that stood at the exact centre of the Arctic Circle. The monks approached a small opening, large enough for the Silver Manta Ray to fit through, as they did so light shone down from above and they rose up into a secret cave.  
As the monks got out of the Shen Gong Wu with all their jaws dropped Dojo boasted about how he found this place and not Dashi. The cavern was beautiful; the floor glistened from the almost crystal like structure in the roof of the cave which shone like a diamond as sunlight pierced it from the surface. The walls where surprisingly smooth and mirror-like, and the ice water sparkled from the radiant light that illuminated the entire cavern, reflecting everything off everything else.

On top of a pedestal at the topmost platform was the new Shen Gong Wu, The Polar Paws. As Kimiko began to approach the staircase, gliding on the ice surface, a portal opened on them, it was a portal created by the Golden Tiger Claws, a Shen Gong Wu that allowed the user to travel to any location they desire.  
From the portal appeared Wuya and Synyster, who was holding the Golden Tiger Claws. "Hope you don't mind that we picked up some of the Shen Gong Wu you have been holding onto for us" sneered Wuya as she leant seductively on Syn's shoulder, waving the tiger claws around before being snatched from her by Synyster. "Enough talk Wuya!" snarled Syn, "Let's get to work before Jack manages to steal this one from me, however unlikely that is" as he spoke he walked from the staircase to the centre of the large room wielding his scepter as always. "Get to work Wuya" he yelled as the monks got in formation. "Kazusu Atom!" yelled Wuya as she began to tear through the large icicle supporting the high platform which held the Shen Gong Wu.  
The monks and Syn exchanged glances before anyone made a move, but the first was Kimiko. "Cat's Eye Draco! Arrow Sparrow!" she screamed, using her Wudai weapon to attack. Syn was too quick, and when the smoke cleared from Kimiko's attack he was gone and attacked her from behind, with an upward swing from his scepter, catching her completely off-guard. Omi jumped to attack next, "Kaijin Charm! Shimo Staff!" he shouted and advanced using his Wudai weapon as a large spiked mace. Syn moved out of the way with every strike of the weapon, almost like an instant side-step, leaving large sections of cracked ice all over the floor and blew Omi away with a screech from the Draco's Choke. Clay and Raimundo decided to attack as one, hoping to trump Syn.  
"Longhorn Taurus! Big Bang Meteorang!"  
"Crest of the Condor! Blade of the Nebula!"  
Synyster was surrounded by a tornado in which multiple boomerangs where flying in... Boomerangs which went boom.  
Through the tornado he was barely seen and so Rai closed the tornado in on itself, the boomerangs had made Impact and detonated. Once the smoke cleared, nothing lay in the remains while Clay and Rai exchanges confused looks, then they both got a tap on their shoulders. They turned to see Syn standing who used the Draco's choke again to drain them of energy and stamina. Kimiko was up again and ready for round two, Syn began to levitate over the ice and Kimiko jumped to attack, missing and landing on the ice again, greeted by a loud crack and she fell into the ice cold water underneath. Clay then dove in to get her while Omi rounded on Synyster while still airborne, this power seemed to be coming from the energy he drew from Clay and Raimundo. This time, Omi attacked with his martial arts skills while Syn blocked on every strike with incredible agility and eventually landed his own hit on Omi. Kimiko got pulled out of the water unharmed, but was weary from her attack, as was Clay.  
The monks lay defeated and with a loud crack Wuya had broken through the icicle and the entire platform fell. Syn evaded the large structure and then stood in the dust and used the Golden Tiger Claws to retrieve the Shen Gong Wu but when he pulled it through the portal he saw Kimiko's hand coming out of the portal also holding the glowing Polar Paw's.  
He had a look of distaste upon him and yelled. "Fine! Kimiko, I challenge you to a Xiaolin Showdown."  
Her voiced echoed in the cave as she replied, "I accept, your Golden Tiger Claws against my Mantis Flip Coin."  
"Agreed!" snarled Synyster, "Last to fall from their platform wins. Let's go! Xiaolin Showdown!"  
The scenery changed, clearing the rumble of the felled icicle and even more rose from the ground, some were just pointed while others had platforms. There were also icicles that descended from the roof of the cave. This scenery was not as serenade as it was before Synyster arrived but it looked dangerous and it was.  
Kimiko and Syn stood on two of the platforms and roared "Gong Yi Tanpai!" Syn moved almost instantly, leaping towards a higher platform. He stood in hesitation, arms spread wide and knowing that his Shen Gong Wu has no destructive powers, relaxed.  
"What's wrong Synyster, afraid of getting burned?" taunted Kimiko. "Something like that" smirked Syn, closing his eyes in cocky confidence.  
Kimiko prepared herself to attack, enraged by his attitude, "Mantis Flip Coin! Fire!" She then flipped towards Syn with her whole body on fire. Syn moved out of the way at the very last second, falling from the platform with his arm up high, and tiger claws in hand, opening a portal waiting for Kimiko to enter as he intentionally fell. As he jumped to another platform from the edge of the first he looked down to see Kimiko appearing from another portal very low down and heading straight for the bottom. She had no way of recovering from the fall in the showdown.  
Syn grinned. The showdown was over. As Kimiko lay on the floor of the cave, soaking, she coughed as Raimundo held her up, concerned for her safety. "She'll be fine, save your concern" sounded the voice of Wuya as she stood beside the fallen platform, only before following what looked like a polar bear into another portal. The monks looked around and the beautiful scenery had been destroyed by the fighting, the crystals at the top of the cavern were smashed and uneven, distorting the reflection of light for the worst and the floor was covered in small ice grains, uneven and dull.

Chase looked impressed as he saw the new Shen Gong Wu lying on his table, "You have done very well; it won't be long until we possess all the Shen Gong Wu and rule the world". He and Wuya raised their glasses, but looked confused as Syn was still sitting. Staring at the ground with an odd look. Wuya asked, "What's wrong, don't you want to rule the world?"  
Synyster hesitated. He drank his wine with one swallow and got up and began to walk away. As he walked he spoke in a hushed tone, "You are not ready to know the entire truth"

_Once again, Synyster was hallucinating. He stood in a corridor with pink tiles and the scenery was much clearer than the last time, he could make out shapes perfectly but the colours were radiant and strong. He was alone in this corridor, the two ends had solid walls whereas the sides were made almost entirely of glass and it was very wide, allowing for at least twenty-six people to stand shoulder to shoulder from one side to the other. The Sun beamed into the hall and gave off a good happy feeling, but Syn wasn't happy, he was sad and felt useless. _

_There were voices in this corridor, the voices of teenagers to be precise. This place was a school and yet again, the phantoms appeared. They were more ghostly and transparent this time, and clear. They were all in uniform, school uniform, girls and boys. He wanted to go back, just not this far. He held his head in his hands trying to dissipate the vision but could not. The phantoms were grouped; many just walked by alone while others were huddled together in large groups, the largest in particular being closest to the left window at the front end. The whispers of the phantoms were familiar almost as were their appearance, apart from being white outlines mostly. Then from this large group a phantom walked out from the crowd and this one was different, his outline was black with a red tint. He walked into the centre of the corridor and looked at Syn. His facial features were identical to Synyster's; his height, an exact match; and the ring on his finger. The very same. _

_Syn began to panic before something bad happened which he knew was inevitable. The other phantoms disappeared while this black one remained. "You've come here to search for answers that you should already have, this place is simply were it all began, no information of importance is here for you, Synyster. Only pain and memories" The phantom approached Syn and placed both its hands on his shoulders and spoke again, "You thought you ruined your life here, trusting those not worthy of it, yet there is one here that you then became attached to, growing to become a huge part of your life, and she will again, but as a memory giving you nothing but pain" _

_Syn looked around and another phantom was there, outlined in orange this time. It was a girl, smaller than Syn; she approached him and spoke, in a voice he knew all too well. "Your former self may not have the answers…" The black phantom faded at this, "…But I do, and the key here is the identity of the single person that changed your life dramatically, what must be done with this person is still a mystery to my being, continue these quests and you will find what to do to unlock your true potential… this is your one and only hint, from here on in, you'll have to figure out the visions on your own" A tear dropped from his face..._

_Both the corridor and the phantom had faded while Syn stood in the silence recollecting his thoughts and came to a conclusion surrounding the scene he had re-entered. "Kate" he had said. "Not a bad idea coming here after all, despite the haunting memories"_

Syn had awoke more gently this time and bounced up off the floor when a teardrop had hit the floor, experiencing a revelation. The name had echoed in his mind for the rest of the sleepless night, like a ten foot tall door had opened in his face. He knew the 'who', but not what, where, when and how. Only time will tell.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6 - Extensive Training

CRASH!

A brick wall had just caved in on itself as Clay had struck it with his fist. The wall was set up in the courtyard of the Xiaolin temple where all the other training apparatus' was set up. This courtyard specialised in devices to help hone their abilities, including complex obstacle courses with swinging axes and pounding hammers as well as automated spears which flew across a small pavilion and then retracted into the firing mechanism. This courtyard was always covered in rubble and had all sorts of devices and contraptions sitting on the side lines, waiting to test the young 'Dragon in Training's abilities. The monks trained here when no Shen Gong Wu had been revealed within some time. Clay usually practiced his strength against brick walls while the others did other separate training exercises. "I can't believe that Syn took the Golden Tiger Claws while we were occupied with the Wu" moaned Rai as he balanced and leaped around on the bamboo sticks with excellent precision. "It was a really dirty move" added Kimiko, following suit with Raimundo. "He's tough to fight too". Omi jumped into the Bamboo sticks with and bounced from one to another and even used Raimundo for a supported boost as he put his hands up prepared to push Omi away. "This is all true, yes, but he must still be mortal, he must have some weaknesses that we can expose. Otherwise he is unstoppable" Omi concluded as he landed on his palm against a moving bamboo stick. "We must work together in unison to understand him and find a way to truly defeat him, and that time will present itself sooner or later", Rai jumped to Kimiko and almost caused her to fall, "I'd like to hope sooner, before we end up without any Wu. And even if we get ourselves into that situation, we'll have our Dragon skills and Wudai Weapons to help us out" Rai confidently declared. Kimiko carefully walked towards Rai against the bamboo sticks, "Now that sounds like a leader, Rai". He blushed a little as she leaped behind him, making sure his face was out of sight.

Clay had joined the bamboo agility now, just to get involved in the conversation, while at this time Master Fung had walked out into the courtyard. "He is not a fighter, but a trickster. A Joker, but a strategist too. From what Dojo has described of his battle techniques, he relies on your flaws and makes it so they will be your very own downfall." Master Fung had announced. The monks had stopped to listen. "For example, Clay is not very fast at climbing for his body structure is too heavy, Synyster used this against you and made it even more difficult for you to climb, causing you to fall. Kimiko, you were offended by Synyster's comment to you, making you angry at him and when in the Showdown, you rushed to attack and he used that temper against you and made your haste action your demise. For you to defeat Syn, you must be able to control your flaws and even more importantly use each other's skills to improve on your own mishaps."

The monks bowed in gratitude. "Hey guys! I just had an amazing idea!" exclaimed Rai. "Why don't we use our own Shen Gong Wu and go into Showdowns against each other to practice out individual skills" everybody was excited about the idea, and even Master Fung had a look of approval, he then began to speak. "That is a most excellent idea Raimundo". Rai looked very proud as he listened. "If you do not mind, I would like to assist you with this practice idea. I would like to add an element of surprise to this, if I may..." he took three Shen Gong Wu and put each of them into separate bags and mixed them up, placing one bag on a platform behind him and holding the other two in his hands, "Kimiko. Raimundo. Take a bag and do not try to guess which Shen Gong Wu is in the bag." They obeyed and held their hands over the bag on the pedestal.  
Master Fung spoke, "Begin"  
As the two monks placed their hands on the Shen Gong Wu, all of the bags dissolved, revealing the Shen Gong Wu that was challenged, The Orb of Tornami and the Shen Gong Wu wagered. "Raimundo, I challenge you to a Xiaolin Showdown. The game is a race to the temple basement." Kimiko stated. Rai looked at her and replied, "I accept, my Silk Spitter against your Fancy Feet, let's go Xiaolin Showdown!"  
The temple had then began to morph and became very large in size and also was home to new mazes as part of the Showdown, Kimiko and Raimundo stood in the courtyard while the others where located on a platform above the temple below a black and red sky. "So this is what a Xiaolin Showdown is like, interesting" Master Fung said. "Gong Yi Tanpai!" said Raimundo and the Showdown had started.

"Silk Spitter!" Raimundo had used his Shen Gong Wu and aimed it at Kimiko's feet just before running off into the open top maze that marked the courtyard are of the temple. Kimiko was swift and simply burned off the silk with her Dragon powers and ran in after him, using the Fancy Feet for catch-up; when she had, he turned sharply and allowed for her to run right into a wall. The two battled for the lead in this first stretch of the race, some taking wrong turns an occasionally engaging in a little combat here and there.

Up above on the spectator platform, Master Fung was intently observing the two in the maze, assessing their progress and the very way they battle. "I am rather impressed with them, Raimundo hasn't taken a wrong turn yet, even if it means pausing before a junction and Kimiko moves so elegantly when she's in combat, I think in the near future I'll make you all compete in a Tsunami Showdown against each other to test all your individual skills at once" Omi and Clay looked chuffed as they looked down on the two below, who had just approached the second section simultaneously.

They entered at different locations but their immediate next turn meant facing each other head on to progress, resulting in a close quarter fire fight. One in which Kimiko had a dominant advantage using her fireballs to incinerate the silk being spat towards her. Rai was trapped and could not progress forward without risk of being burned, allowing for Kimiko to get ahead and run past him into the next passage. Kimiko had planted a wall of fire at the end of the next junction, preventing him from moving forward; just through the flames Raimundo could see Kimiko blowing him a kiss before running off. This didn't cause a huge delay for Raimundo as he simply drew a large breath and blew hard and the flames extinguished immediately. Kimiko was far ahead and Raimundo had lost track of her but still continued on progressively, hesitating at each junction to prevent him taking any wrong turns.

Clay and Omi above were just mentioning how close the outcome would be before Dojo joined in, "How about placing a few bets? Huh?" Master Fung did not seem to notice so Omi and Clay went ahead, "I bet that Rai wins, and if he does, you do my Monday chores" Clay proclaimed. "Very well, then if Kimiko wins, you have to do my Thursday Chores, agreed?" Omi replied, "You got yourself a bet partner" Then they shook.

Meanwhile, Kimiko and Raimundo approached the spiralling staircase to the finish line, they were neck and neck, but instead of using the stairs they both just plummeted through the centre of the spiral and it was close. The winner was only determined after the scenery had changed back to the cluttered training courtyard when Kimiko was holding all the Shen Gong Wu involved.

Master Fung approached the monks and commended Kimiko and Rai on their performance, "Congratulations Kimiko and Raimundo, you both worked very hard in that showdown and I am certain that you didn't put in your full effort in as you were aware that it was only a practice showdown, I admire your skills highly and I see why we have done so well up until this time when a new force has halted out progression. From now on we will use this method of training to improve on each other's skills and abilities, but for now I think you all deserve a rest. By the way, Omi, you and only you will be doing your Thursday chores"

That night Raimundo had another dream, this time it was stronger and felt real. He tossed and turned as he slept, hearing the maniacal laughter of Syn while he stood over the corpse of Kimiko. It was just a nightmare he told himself repeatedly. It would never happen…

*

"Dog's playing poker!"  
"Dog's playing poker!"  
BANG!  
"Chimp Yanking Chain!"  
"Chimp Yanking Chain!"  
"Sparrow Eating Hotdog!"  
"Sparrow Eating Hotdog!"  
"Monkey strike!"  
"Repulse the monkey!"  
Synyster lay on the floor of Chase Young's Throne room gasping for breath, "Forgot about that" he complained. Chase landed beside him and fell on one knee breathless, "You put up an excellent fight for someone just beginning to learn Kung-Fu." he moaned. The two villains lay on the floor struggling to catch their breath and then helped each other up. Chase then asked, "Why do even wish to learn Kung-Fu? You have great power already with the scepter and as far as I'm aware, the more Shen Gong Wu you collect the more powerful you become, or so you've lead me to believe, I can even see that amber jewel glowing during a showdown, as if the magical energy in the environment is enhancing it" Syn walked over to the table at the side and poured himself a drink and devoured a strawberry before answering, "It is within my best interests to establish many ways to defend myself as well as many ways to open an offensive, if you understand what I mean. The big picture is obtain so much power and control it without a problem that I will be unstoppable, and that will be when I can exact vengeance on those who deserve it, among other great plans…"  
Wuya walked into the room and immediately spoke, "Personally I couldn't be bothered with all that Kung-Fu and physical fighting, I prefer magic" Syn and Chase turned to look at Wuya. She then transported to the balcony above with the Golden Tiger Claws. "Besides, it means getting bruised, and I don't think I have the type of body that scars have a positive impact on, if you know what I'm getting at" Syn then glared at Wuya and spoke, "Wuya, your... Magic. Hasn't been useful lately, I'm starting to panic that we've missed the revealing of some Shen Gong Wu because of you" Wuya looked insulted, but Chase settled Syn, "Do not worry, we haven't missed any, I have a telepathic connection with the Ancient Scroll of the Shen Gong Wu as I am the one that archived them onto the Scroll to begin with. Be assured we haven't missed a thing" Synyster looked at ease and walked off. Syn had felt slightly weaker using up his energy on the vivid explorations of his inner mind, so he went to the roof and stood tall; he had his coat off and a necklace was hanging over his tank top, though he still had his fingerless gloves on. He was allowing for the wind to cool him down from the workout. The cold air tensed his muscles and made the hair on his neck stand on edge, while he stood out over the edge of the cliff embracing the wind and taking in all the memories it carried on it, including the monks recent training method, he knew everything.

After a few moments Chase came up to the roof and stood near a spike while Syn stood on the ledge letting the night air cool him. "Synyster… May I ask you a few questions? I know you may not answer them all and I can understand why"

Syn stepped down from the ledge and grabbed his trench coat which hung on a sharp rock, making his way to Chase's side where he sat. "Come. Sit down Chase, relief your body"

Anxious, Chase sat as if he had something to be afraid of on the ground. Syn then spoke in a gentle and hushed tone. "Your assistance here is quite valuable Chase, collecting the Shen Gong Wu is a very tall order and your skills are useful in each retrieval. For that I am grateful, but what my end game is, it's nothing short of control of everything. But I cannot do it alone"

Chase looked at Syn and asked "So you won't be staying in this dimension for long? Will you?"

Synyster hesitated. "No… I won't. Once I have all the Shen Gong Wu, I will leave this world and eventually find another. But I had to come to this world first…"

"But your scepter? It cannot possibly be from earth, its power is too great-"

"Alas, you are right, no known earthly power can create such an object… But a man with supernatural abilities can"

Chase sat with his mind reeling, going over all possibilities until he spoke, "So you had supernatural powers before?!"

Syn stood up and put his coat on before turning to Chase, "That is a story for another day. Now let's go, I want to practice some more"

Chase stood up and watched Syn enter the palace again; as he was going to follow suit, something crossed his mind… something that carried in the wind… Something darker than Chase's very soul. And that in itself was pitch black.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7 – Fight Flight

Several months had passed since the last time a Shen Gong Wu had been revealed and Syn was getting impatient, he began spending hours and hours in different cities across the globe to experience some form of civilisation which he had been deprived of for so long. On one occasion he had just came out onto a quiet alleyway after leaving a cinema house halfway through a movie and got into a spot of trouble. He recalled the event to Chase when he got back from it. "So the movie I went to see was awful and the effects were terrible so I just left. I obviously went out the back door so not to draw any unnecessary attention and of course, anybody who leaves a cinema house ends up in a dark alley with a dark damp ground, two brick walls on either side and it wouldn't be quite complete without the fire escape on the side of one building. Very cliché…" Syn began, relaxing in a chair retelling the story in detail. "So I detect this smell and I look around to see a shit-load of smoke deeper in the alleyway – sounds like a movie scene, right? – and there was a huge flame coming from a drain pipe, I go a bit closer and look towards it, standing right next to this smoke that I can't even see through. Next thing I know, BAM, some jack-ass punches me square in the jaw!" Chase interrupted, "I already know that that mortal is no longer with us". Syn stopped and laughed for a moment, then continued. "So, I'm just standing there with a punched jaw, bleeding too! The guy comes out of the smoke complaining; 'Hey, how come you're not dead?' and I notice he has barbed wire around his fist, probably why I bleed – which had stopped by now as the scepter was healing me as I went along – so I take his fist in mine, him obviously roaring, 'What're ye doing?' and such. I break his fist. Every single bone in his hand. Shattered. And while he's screaming in pain, four other guys come out of the smoke, all with barbed wire around their knuckles, so I do my thing. Bottom line, there's four dead guys in that New York Alleyway and one alive – but only just - , one died from the shock of a shattered fist, another snapped spine in five different places, the third has a huge gash in his skull starting at the corner of his eye going straight to his ear; and the next guy died from fall damage as I dropped him off a building; and the last guy is crawling his way to the side walk with thirty-six broken bones and severe head trauma. But besides that, good day"

Chase looked very concerned and began to talk to Synyster, "The fact that a Shen Gong Wu hasn't revealed itself in months has made you bored and it's going to result in slaughter, why don't you train with me? The monks are training, and the next time we meet them in battle, they will be more prepared to fight you".

Syn sat up in his chair looking grim and leaned on the table between him and Chase and whispered, "I am more than aware of the monks training and have been looking into the Shen Gong Wu thoroughly so I know all their secrets, using them against the monks so I will always have the upper-hand. My skill is extensive and the monks will certainly not stop me. And as to my boredom, if a Shen Gong Wu doesn't reveal itself in the next forty-eight hours, I will take the Xiaolin temple alone and retrieve every last one of them until the monks will embrace the desperate idea of an assault on this palace which you will be ready for and in turn, capturing them. Torturing them. Toying with them, until their will breaks and all that is left is the empty, hollow shells of what used to be, admirable opponents, understood?"

Chase swallowed hard and nervously nodded. Syn then got up in a rage and walked away casting what seemed like an ominous dark cloud of depression in his wake; but this scared Chase, and he has never been afraid of anything in his life, ever. Chase concluded that it was the power of the scepter amplified by the Shen Gong Wu that caused this; otherwise he would not have been so frightened by mere words. All that he could hope for now was that a Shen Gong Wu would reveal itself shortly, as to strafe the madness of an attack on the temple.

The monks had been under so much stress from Master Fung in the last few months that they were desperate to have a new Shen Gong Wu revealed, just to get away from all of it, the life advice in the form of riddles; the aching and throbbing muscles; the repetitive routine that got more and more painful after each repeat; and of course, one cranky Dojo. On one particular morning Dojo had just flew off and went into Hong Kong to visit his cousin Lau Kanojo Cho, who in turn fed him like a lord, resulting in Dojo getting food poisoning from the food in the restaurant he had invested in, which for a dragon is a difficult thing to treat, but luckily enough, Master Fung had sent for Master Monk Guan who knew exactly what to do. In fact he stayed awhile to help Dojo recover, which was a great relieve to the monks as he trained two days a week instead of Master Fung, but was quite lenient in comparison to last time he trained them.

Finally the day had come when a Shen Gong Wu revealed itself, it was a great relieve on both sides as Synyster was over-joyed and the monks were rushing to get out of the temple. Dojo had tracked the Wu to a skyscraper building in Chicago, Illinois. As the monks and Master Monk Guan dismounted Dojo, he began to speak, "I appreciate you having me along in your trip to retrieve the Shen Gong Wu, but I am curious. Do they always happen to be on the top floor of a man-made building?" Dojo hopped onto Master Monk Guan's shoulders and answered him, "You see, the normal people of the world see shiny, mysterious objects and put a price on them; sell them off to the guy that flashes the most cash, and unfortunately for us, this one's from Chi-town. Hold onto your wallets kids". The Monks approached the building and entered, but security interfered. "Sorry folks. This building is off limits to any unauthorised personal" exclaimed a security guard as the monks passed through the revolving which Omi had stopped to admire like a child admiring a new toy. The monks did not want to get involved in an unnecessary fight with a civilian so they just backed out, grabbing Omi by the collar and lifting him into the air as they did so. They regrouped around the side of the building and began to discuss a way in. "What are we gonna do guys? We can't get passed those guards easily and I don't have an influential way in like when we got the Golden Tiger Claws" Kimiko started, Omi was heard in the background complaining that he misses the tiger claws before Raimundo interjected, "How about I fly up to the top and break in through the window of the office where it is?" Clay shot this idea down immediately, "But you don't know if it'll be the right office or what the Wu even looks like Rai, and for all we know, the guy that has it could 'ave a ton of weird artefacts" While the monks continued to talk Master Monk Guan asked for the Changing Chopsticks from Dojo and he used them to increase a few small objects in his hand in size. This growth got the attention of the other monks promptly; the objects were all the same, there were five Spears of Guan, the Master Monk's favourite weapon, custom made. "Follow my lead my monks" He then reached down and grabbed one, producing a chain from between the spear point and the stem he began to swing it around like a lasso and tossed the spear into the solid wall of the building and then ran towards it, still firmly wielding the stem, The master then ran straight up the wall and began to hang where he was with the chain secured in the wall though he didn't hang too long as he began climbing up until he was level with the spear and in the blink of an eye he pulled the spear out of the wall and lunged it higher up the wall where it landed yet again firmly in the solid wall. The monks were awestruck and then grabbed a Spear of Guan each and followed in his lead.

Meanwhile, Syn had arrived in the basement of the building opposite the one where the Shen Gong Wu was located, Chase decided to sit this one out because of his recent scare and Wuya had went in his stead. They had arrived using the stolen Golden Tiger Claws; they arrived in a storeroom in an underground parking structure, making it a less oblivious exit route. The pair began to scale the parking structures stairwell until they made their way onto the top level which was open and any parked cars would be exposed to weather conditions such as rain or snow; they then approached the side of the structure planning to cross over to the next building somehow. However, they were interrupted by none other than Jack Spicer, Boy Screw-up. "Well, it looks like ol' Jack has the advantage now, you two are stuck on this parking structure and I can go right over to the building with the Shen Gong Wu with absolutely no difficulty, hahaha. No harm in cheating anyway, Jackbots! Attack!" Suddenly a swarm of robots came from the area below and advanced an attack on Synyster and Wuya, Wuya jumped back while Syn stood there as the bots shot laser cannons from their chests, the smoke rose high and Wuya had covered her face to shield from the blow; when the smoke cleared Syn stood in the same place unharmed with the Draco's Choke activated but he looked more like a ghost than a man, then regained his solid form and another roar from the Choke destroyed the robots in one wave. Wuya approached Syn swiftly and urged him to press on, "Quickly, we must move before Jack gets there before us!" Syn did not budge, and pointed to the side of their destination building, it was difficult to see but Wuya could make out the form of five monks somehow climbing the wall of the building. She panicked, but in a flash movement Synyster had taken her waist and she was enveloped in black smoke, while she felt her feet leave the ground and when she could she again, she was lying in the middle of an office with one glass wall, one panel completely smashed overlooking a parking structure. "Sorry, there was no time to explain over there and have you try to not go with it" Syn proclaimed, "And before you ask, I couldn't have given you a warning" He then made his way to the door and kicked it open, while Wuya still lay on the floor among the shattered glass. Finally she got up and they moved on.

The monks had then arrived at the roof of the building and Master Monk Guan was aware that the Wu was located a few floors down, "Clay, if you could use your powers to create a few shortcuts going down, they'd be very much appreciated", Clay then took a position in the centre of the group while the rest stood well back, "Brace yourself, and prepare for a hard landing" Dojo whispered to Master Monk Guan, whose shoulder Dojo was still resting on. All of a sudden, Clay smashed his foot into the roof and it collapsed under their feet in pieces, falling through to the next floor which was taller than anticipated, resulting in many groans and whinges from the monks, except Clay and Guan. "Sorry about that partners, guess it was a bigger drop than expected" Clay had said as he held a hand out to Raimundo to help him up. Guan peered out the window and saw a residue of a trail of black smoke, slowly dissipating by the second; at this sight he gasped and hurried to the adjacent corridor, "Come quickly monks, before the enemy gets to the Shen Gong Wu first" He beckoned, "Dojo, how many floors down is it?" He questioned; Dojo sarcastically replied, "Not sure, this running is interfering. But judging by the nostril rash, I'd say, fourrrrrrrrrrrr!" screamed Dojo as Master Monk Guan had jumped off the edge of a staircase and grabbed on to a banister four floors down, Dojo still screaming, only residing once Guan had stopped on the stairs to call forth the rest of the monks. "How does he move so swiftly?" Omi admirably asked with stars in his eyes, as he followed suit, right behind Raimundo as he glided down to the same staircase. "We must hurry if we are to get their without getting involved in a showdown" Guan roared as he rushed on, Dojo's groans following him closely.

In this time, the Heylin warriors had made quite some progress too, "Wuya, give me the Kazusu Atom! Quickly now, we don't have a moment to lose" Synyster ordered, looking up while asking for the Wu. "We're talking a shortcut" He explained, "Kazusu Atom!" the Shen Gong Wu had opened up a ray that permanently destroyed anything it touched and he drew a circle on the ceiling. Suddenly, he stopped using it and tackled Wuya to the ground some five feet away. She sat up and began yelling, "What the hell did you do tha-", but he simply rose to his feet and leaped into the next floor and shouted down, "You're welcome!" Wuya took a second glance and saw that if he hadn't tackled her to the ground, she would have been trapped under the rubble of the ceiling. She soon followed him up to the next floor where Synyster was already traversing a staircase in an open area; "Hey, hag. Over here, the Shen Gong Wu is up the ways" He called across the room. As offensive as the 'Hag' remark may have been, Wuya completely disregarded it and ran to catch up. After some travelling through maze like corridors, they reached an office with a security lock. Syn and Wuya exchanged glances before Syn reached down with his scepter blade and inserted it into the card slot. Moments later, the security lock began to spark and shock before blowing, leaving a small cloud of smoke to arise from the box. Wuya then kicked the door in when signalled to do so by Syn after he had retrieved his blade.

The monks had eventually caught up with Master Monk Guan at the beginning of what appeared to be a labyrinth of corridors and conjoined offices. "What took you so long kids, we could have the Shen Gong Wu already by now, hehe" Dojo sniggered. "Shh" Master Monk Guan had silenced the monks and Dojo; who looked like he was going to ask if he was just shushed, but resisted given it was Master Monk Guan's shoulders he rested on. Guan moved off slowly, tip-toeing his way along an adjacent hallway. The Monks followed suit and they came to a point where a conversation could be overheard; "Please…, please, just don't hurt my son, I'll do anything" a voice whimpered somewhere within one of the nearby offices. A second was heard making demands, "Good, then give me that object that sits behind your chair mister Spicer and then maybe we'll spare your son's life" snarled Synyster. Another whimpering voice was heard as they monks grew closer to the source of the negotiations, this one was very similar to the first, and sounded familiar to all but Guan. "Dad, don't do it. I can take care of myself, I promise. Just don't give it to them" Jack snivelled, closer to tears than ever, the monks almost pitied him, being held hostage in the outcome of receiving a possibly worthless Shen Gong Wu. The warriors had then approached the outer walls of what they had gathered was the office where Jack was being held hostage and took cover behind the walls outside the entrance to the office, each of them creeping up ever so slowly to avoid being detected by Syn's impossible powers. "Hurry now, Wuya. I don't want involved in a showdown with Master Monk Guan, he will not meet his downfall today" Syn then raised his hissed voice, "Isn't that right Master?"

Master Monk Guan panicked and jumped from out of cover and rushed in with his spear primed ready to engage Syn, but when he turned the corner, he noticed that Wuya was at the window ready to jump out already with the Shen Gong Wu and Syn stood next to Jack, who was also smirking. Behind the modernised office desk was one of Jack's robots, armed also; the whole hostage situation was a ploy, a distraction for them to get ready to leave. Omi and Raimundo had turned the corner as well and saw this, something that the villains had not taken into account as Syn engaged Master Monk Guan as Wuya was pulled back into the building as she began to fall out the window by the chained spears of Omi and Clay's spears of Guan. Jack was engaged in hand to hand combat with Kimiko and Raimundo had taken some of the heat of Guan by targeting Synyster as well. The office had turned into a Black Op war zone, when Wuya was dragged back into the building she hit the floor and the Shen Gong Wu had slid into the middle of the room, right in between Guan and Jack. This was greeted with a great pause of shock, so great Dojo had returned to hiding in Clay's hat like old times, and suddenly there was an overwhelming dive to the Shen Gong Wu; three people had risen from the crawled crowd. Guan, Synyster and Jack had all got their hands on the Shen Gong Wu simultaneously. The Wu was shaped like a hand with four curved fingers but someone could fit it over the outer part of their hand perfectly, it was a deep purple and had a splash insignia on the plate that made up the most of it.

"This I was trying to avoid this, but very well. Jack, Guan; I challenge you to a Xiaolin showdown!"

"Fine, I accept. I wager the Ruby of Ramses against your Draco's Choke and against your Monkey Staff, boy" snarled Guan.

"Yeah yeah, sure thing guys, what's the game?" bothered Jack

"The game is a rooftop race, first one across the city wins, and first to fall gets absolutely nothing" hissed Synyster. "On your mark, Xiaolin Showdown!"

The scenery had yet again changed as always and this time it was quite impressive. The buildings around the city had rose to extreme heights, and stood over the normal high rise. The streets below had been covered in a think dense cloud that nobody could even see through. The bystanders were moved to a high rise that towered above the entire city looking at all aspects of the complex course that Synyster had set out. There were also large chunks of buildings floating in mid-air slightly above the course; they were well laid out as they marked the course and allowed access to alternative routes by their appearance and positioning. The three competitors had teleported to an open rooftop with an overhang and the track had been laid out in front of them. "Let's make things interesting Jack. Overpower the monk." Syn whispered to Jack, who sniggered to reply his answer. "Gong Yi Tanpai!" they all yelled at once. Monk Guan had ran forward and kicked a piece of rubble into the air, jumping up and grabbing it with one hand, and with the other, used the Ruby of Ramses to move it through the air while holding the rubble. Jack and Syn acted at the same time, Jack running up and jumping off the edge, activating his Helipack as he did so, laughing aloud. Meanwhile Synyster ran up the side of the wall and used his scepter to hook onto one of the floating remains, swinging from it to the next, and landing on top. Jack and Guan had a commanding lead ahead of him, but he wasn't worried.

"Not so fast now! Are you Syn!" roared a cocky Raimundo from the podium. "Just you wait, my dear" Wuya responded, not talking her eyes of the course.

Syn was still standing where he was and used the Draco's Choke to summon another howl from it, this one slowed down time as Guan and Jack almost slowed to a stop ahead. Syn grinned and then leapt from the building pieces to one another, occasionally he would let out another shout giving him an incredible speed boost along straights. He was so majestic looking; somersaulting from platform to platform and rooftop to rooftop; he eventually caught up with Guan and Jack just before time resumed. Guan heard his laugh beside him, almost lost control of the Ruby as the rubble began to plummet slowly. He recovered and leaped onto the brickwork that he was using for transport.

"That's cheating!" screamed Kimiko.

"No good dirt bag!" moaned Clay while Omi looked red with frustration.

"On five, Jack" Syn called out, Guan could then see Jack using his high-tech watch to do something, not long after he heard a sort of whooshing sound getting louder and louder until a robot had flew in front of Jack and Guan. It had turned to face Guan and he had feared for the worst. His suspicions were correct as a cannon barrel had rolled out of the bots chest; just in time he let go of the piece of rubble and fell onto a rooftop nearby, while Syn simultaneously leaped from the rubble to the robot; that had fired already. Synyster had planted his scepter into the robots back and had opened up the control wired, controlling its path and speed.

"Thanks Jack. The Wu's all yours" granted Syn, but despite Jack's look of happiness and dash to the finish, he had not thought about Synyster's control over the robot; once he was directly behind an eager Jack, he twisted the scepter and the robot's cannon had fired. There was a bang, followed by a spark and then a screech that got quieter as Jack sank towards the clouds.

It was an assured victory for Syn, although he hadn't anticipated that Master Monk Guan was still in the game and that Jack had the Monkey Staff. Guan had caught up using the Ruby and screaming monkey noises from behind indicated that it wasn't over yet. Guan had looked at Syn with a fierce look which was returned with equal hostility; approaching a turn in the path, Guan jumped from the rubble to the platforms surrounding the course and ran on, still holding the brickwork in the Ruby's hold. Syn had an idea of what his intentions were and slowed time down yet again with another roar just as Guan had thrust the chunk of the building at him; giving Syn enough time to pass around it. The repercussions affected Jack badly as the platforms that he used had collided with the thrust rubble, giving Jack a lack of footing. He was out of the game this time and all that remained were the faint screams of an ape. The finish line was fast approaching and Guan had appeared out of the blue yet again, leaping from the platforms just as Syn had done some time ago; both competitors were neck and neck when things got risky for Synyster.

Syn's thoughts were swarming his mind, "How can I be neck and neck with somebody, I'm better than this", "What if I'm not strong enough to defeat Master Monk Guan? How can I be undermined so easily?" But eventually he thought of something that would ensure his victory. He looked towards Master Monk Guan and shouted, it was aggressive so the Draco's Choke interpreted the aggression of his voice and transferred it into raw power; this caused a roar of immense power and energy resulting in a fiery storm to rupture from the Shen Gong Wu. Guan had fallen through the clouds covered in soot and burns, just as Syn had passed by the finish line looking weakened, just about staying on the bot.

When the scenery had changed back to its normal state everyone tended their injured. Wuya had Syn in her arms while he had the wagered Shen Gong Wu at his feet; the monks were tending to Guan as he shrieked with the pain of searing burns he had sustained. "I am sorry for the unnecessary afflictions Guan, looks like you got to me, I will admit you have skills, and maybe one day we'll face off against each other for a final time. Get us outta here Wuya", the monks were left to treat Master Monk Guan and get him home safely as they gently secured him onto Dojo's back preparing for transport, Kimiko noticed Jack hunched over in a chair in the corner of the office kicking his heels against the ground like a little kid. "Aren't you leaving, Jack?" Kimiko asked; feeling slightly concerned. Jack was hesitant in his reply but finally said, "No, this is actually my dad's office so I should, um…. I should probably stick around and explain what happened" He was almost in tears like a kid, and it was a different side to Jack Spicer than what she had ever seen, for once, she pitied him.

"Yo, Kim. Let's go, Guan's safe, time to get him home!" called Raimundo from Dojo's back. She took on final glance at Jack before hopping onto Dojo's back, staring at Jack as he shrank into the distance, before being taken out of sight by the clouds.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8 – Defiance

It had been at least a week since the struggle at the skyscraper in Chicago and Master Monk Guan had not left his bed from then, his wounds were bad and Master Fung was taking care of them, occasional sending Clay and Dojo on errands for healing ingredients and messages to his temple. Raimundo was frustrated at the damage that this Synyster character had dealt within the few short months he had been here, although for most of them he lay dormant; Kimiko was also deep in thought, she thought back to Jack and was curious to see if he was okay, but was battling her own mind, trying to figure out if it was a ploy, just like the hostage situation back at the skyscraper.

"Clay, could I send you and Dojo to go look for another herb, for this you will have to journey to the Amazon rainforest, it is a rare herb and needs to be kept cool. So if you could take the Orb of Tornami with you to drip some water on it every half hour it would keep cool, thank you" Master Fung was giving out some instructions, and had send Clay and Dojo away yet again, "Omi, Raimundo, Kimiko; you can stay here and relax for a while, or perhaps if you wish to expel some anger, you can train, I will be with Master Monk Guan, tending to his wounds, a combination of some of the ingredients Clay brought back seems to have a positive effect" he had said, smiling with hope. "Master, how can we beat this guy?" Rai asked, but Master Fung looked grim and walked into Guan's room, locking the door behind him.

An hour later, Omi was walking by a temple corridor and noticed Rai staring out at the Moonlight through an open window. His curiosity overcame and he decided to have a look reaching the windows using the Monsoon Sandals, "Where is Kimiko going?!" Omi yelled, but Rai put his hand to his mouth to stop him shouting out. "Omi, she's going out to see Jack, she saw him at the skyscraper and he looked pretty beat up, she just wants to check on him. Besides, I'm leaving too" Raimundo walked away and Omi looked stunned, "But why?"

"Not for good, Omi. I'm going to confront Syn and Chase, you're welcome to come along, and I may need the help"

"Are you crazy? He is too strong, what did you plan on doing? Batting your eyelashes and hope he gives the Shen Gong Wu back?" whispered Omi in a high tone.

"No, I'm gonna fight for them, and Omi, I may need your help to do it"

Omi looked hesitant. "Okay, okay. Just don't tell Master Fung, now I'll get the Shen Gong Wu"

"NO! Omi!"

He stopped dead in his tracks and slowly turned to face Raimundo, "But why?" he said sadly.

"This guy is slowly stealing and taking every Shen Gong Wu we can get our hands on, I'm not gonna risk any tonight, okay?"

Omi looked up to Rai and replied as he bowed, "You really have turned into a great leader Raimundo, now let's go"

Kimiko had arrived at Jack's house and started to creep around the perimeter to ensure it was safe to cross the courtyard without any alarms sounding. Once this was done she was cautious and used the garden decorations for cover as there were bright spotlights that looked out onto the courtyard, she reached the house and began to climb the walls of the building slowly and carefully, avoiding the windows at all costs. She reached the roof; it was dark as the lights did not reach up here, all that lit her path was the moonlight. She edged around the spires and edges until she found an access hatch in the roof that overlooked a study of sorts, the room had a rich wooden floor and a velvet red mat that sat in front of the blistering fire, which sat in the marble fireplace and family photos; all surrounded by settee's of a high quality with golden studs all along the edge of it. Kimiko opened the window slowly to avoid the possibility of it creaking while it was being opened, she then gracefully glided down to the floor, as she landed the door opened and she rushed to a suit of armour that stood beside the fireplace, hiding behind it.

"Jack I don't know what to believe anymore, you keep running off across the world with these gadgets that you made. They aren't stable; you should really stop all this nonsense. And then you claim that the puzzle box I sent you from middle Asia contained an 'evil ghost lady' that made you get these mystical objects and that the warrior's glove I collected from Rome was one of them. Let me ask you a very serious question Jack; are you on some sort of narcotics? Because I can get you help in rehab"

"God dammit, dad. You don't understand, this is all true, I'm not on drugs. I am a genius who builds stable robots and transport vehicles and I can take care of myself" Jack screeched across the study. "If you can't understand that then I might as well leave this house". He stormed off out of the room; his dad yanked something from underneath his chair and followed him. Kimiko then crept around the outer walls of the study and entered the corridor; she saw Jack's dad walk around the corner at the other end of the hall wielding what looked like a radio antenna in his fist. At the sight of this Kimiko got concerned and ran down the hall to help Jack out but got lost after she turned the corner as everything looked the same and there many doors leading to seemingly the same thing.

Omi was deep in thought at the moment, questioning Raimundo's methods and whether they should have went against Master Fung's orders. "Hey Omi. Wake up; we're almost in the Land of Nowhere. You gotta get ready, those mountain lions are gonna be the first obstacle to getting into that Palace, you better be ready for a fight" Raimundo had said, Omi had stirred himself and looked at Raimundo only to see a look of fear in his eyes. "Raimundo, are you sure about this?" Omi asked, but Rai didn't answer, he only bit his lip and nodded, trying to hold in tears almost. The Tunnel Armadillo then began to rise up and move at an angle as Rai moved the control stick up. They broke through the earth and straightened up, Raimundo let go of the controls and held his head in his hands just before getting out of the Armadillo, shortly followed by a worried Omi. "Hide the Wu in this log Omi" Rai had said as he inspected a dead trunk. "Now let's go"

The pair quietly approached the large cavern, shaped like a demon's head, which looked scarier than it ever had in the past. They had approached the door and Rai looked up, swallowed and then suddenly leapt from the ground up to the tunnel that Syn had destroyed months ago, but it was cleared now and deep within Rai could hear the sound of snoring tigers, Omi joined him shortly and they nodded at each other, just before continuing.

They had reached a cave that had many levels, each with sleeping lions, possibly hungry too. Omi and Raimundo had to carefully tip-toe their way in between them, making as little noise they humanly could while not emitting a smell of fear they knew the lions would pick up all too well, even while they slept. Eventually the two monks had reached the other side of the cave, and with a sigh of relive they smiled and high-fived each other, something they regretted greatly. At the sound of the clap, every creature in that cave had immediately awoken and growled at the intruders, they shock of the mass amount of the lions had the two monks frozen, but then decided it would be wise to run, and run they did. They ran down the narrow passageway that presumably leads to the beautiful entrance to Chase Young's Palace. They ran and ran while the growling and howling of lions was heard tight behind them, occasionally getting scratched on the back of their heels and legs. Finally they reached the palace, where they ran down the stairs to the open area and prepared for a battle, they had no time before the first lion pounced on them with no hesitation or threatening growls. Raimundo ducked and grabbed it by the tail on the way past, flinging it back the way it came with such a force it shook the ground and other lions were knocked off their feet. Omi was sharp as an arrow, dealing out lethal jabs to any single lion that dared challenge him, and when it came down to a group of lions he jumped into the air and allowed them to collide with each other's skulls and using their own prowess against them.

The lions never seemed to end as they fought them, but they lasted much longer than they had done before and had much more power and abilities that benefitted the fight in the monks favour.

"Enough!" came a thundering voice from the top of the incredible staircase above, it echoed around the walls of the palace, and eventually drowning in the crashing waterfalls. The lions had paused and become calm, just before they started to slowly traverse the staircase up to the source of the voice. Higher still than the top of the staircase was a platform; it was quite far away but the two monks could make out the silhouette of Chase Young, just before he turned and walked back. Rai and Omi cautiously made their way up the steps with the tigers, preparing themselves for whatever may lie ahead, hoping for safe passage out of the palace, Wu or no Wu. Eventually they came to a large archway which marked the crossover from beautiful palace lobby to creepy villainous lair, and it was a sudden change as they passed through the archway as the lighting had changed from peaceful illuminous waterfalls crashing against bright blue stone to dimly lit black torches shaped similarly to large spikes that procured from rough cavernous walls. Shortly after passing the contradicting archway they came to a room that was all too familiar with them, and at the other side of the circular throne room sat the throne of Chase Young, which was quite large, so large that the back rose up past the balcony overlooking the floor. Chase himself sat with his head down on his throne petting one of his pets while he sneered at the monks, glowing red eyes just visible past his luscious black hair. However, perched atop the throne on the high back was Synyster, looking as relaxed as ever using the unknown power of his scepter to keep a few of the Shen Gong Wu held in mid-air, slightly above himself surrounded in a black and red aura all while they circled his upper body. The two of the villains began to laugh simultaneously getting louder and louder until a howling wind had suddenly passed through the room out of nowhere, causing all the flames of the torches in the room went out and Raimundo and Omi were left in the dark with no comprehension of what was yet to come.

Kimiko was still wandering around the mansion trying to find the entrance to Jacks lair, but she got incredibly lost; she was still trying to be discreet and not draw any attention to herself but also examined many family images and loose documents that were scattered throughout the house and everything became clear. Jack's father was a wealthy man that was one of the head financial experts for a large American computer company that was very well known in the modern world, but he was a worker and was always away on business trips or something similar, and when he wasn't away he was punishing Jack for being who he is, he was never happy with Jack's attitude toward the world, he saw his desire to conquer the world as a desperate cry for attention and tried many things to stop it, even if it means getting physical. Kimiko became very worried after analysing this information about the house so she rushed to find the lair. After another five minutes of searching she found it and burst in to stop Jack's dad from doing anything, but she saw something else that she would have never expected.

She had barged into the room to find the figure of Jack's father lying on the ground, blood oozing out of his neck where a large dagger had been buried; Jack stood by his side, traumatised but not crying or weeping, and then there was Wuya sitting provocatively on Jack's table drying her hands on what appeared to be a blood soaked wash cloth. Kimiko had almost fainted with shock, she had just laid her eyes upon a crime scene, a pretty violent one too; and with the feeling of vomit in her mouth she yelped, "How could you? How could you kill a man in cold blood?" Wuya's reply was just as devastating, "I was told to do something that may need some improvising, I decided to get a bit creative" she smirked, Kimiko stood paralyzed and breathless at the events that had transpired here tonight, she then screamed at the top of her lungs, "How could you kill an innocent man that you never even knew just because it was creative?! You evil bitch!"

Wuya looked offended, and calmly spoke, "My dear, that type of language doesn't suit you. And you should also be aware of who your using it against"

Meanwhile Jack had walked over to a large pile of rubble and began breathing quite deeply, trying to take in the situation, eventually he stopped and Wuya had walked over to him and put her hand on his shoulder and whispered to him "Breath", immediately he whipped round and hugged her, whimpering the words, "Thank you, thank you Wuya, thank you"

At this Kimiko was in awe, things we clearly more complicated between Jack and his father than what appeared, and since the ordeal had begun she had held up until now. She fainted and through her eyelids she could vaguely make out the silhouettes of Jack and Wuya leaving, pushing Kimiko aside as they did so.

"Foolish monks, coming here unprepared for a true battle" echoed the voice of Chase Young

"And I thought they were training to become dragon warriors" loudly sneered Synyster

"A task, for someone with your previous skills Synyster, could accomplish, overnight!" taunted Chase.

"Indeed, even the powerful Master Monk Guan wasn't a match for me" howled Syn

"Something I myself would have taken great pride in doing"

"The deed is done, and the plan is one step closer to achievement"

"Thus the arrival of the monks makes their Shen Gong Wu ours!"

Raimundo spoke up, "We have no Shen Gong Wu with us, this is gonna be a fight of our fighting skills"

There was a pause before Chase spoke again, "A worthy challenge no doubt, if you are game that is"

"I be game Chase, I do wonder how our rivals fight in the dark?" howled Syn.

"It won't matter, make it a challenge for us and have them fight in the light; you will be at a disadvantage"

"There was a time I fought in the light, and for it. But now that that's changed let's get to the task at hand, shall we?"

"Agreed"

The lights had come back on and Chase and Syn stood beside the two monks, they didn't notice until they were put into a headlock by the villains.

"Interesting technique this is Synyster, I like it" growled Chase as he held Omi's head tighter towards his chest, not long before he broke free. Raimundo managed to do the same, but was worse done by; this was clear by the hard coughing he was subjected to after breaking free.

"And that was a normal choke, not a Draco's Choke" grinned Syn. The two villains had begun to advance on the two monks, caught by surprise. Chase started on Omi, diving towards him putting his fist forward, and landing it in Omi's chest, but the monk had time recuperate and respond with a cartwheel that lead into an uppercut to Chase, which he had almost avoided. Beside this Syn and Rai crossed blades, Synyster armed with his scepter and Raimundo's Blade of the Nebula. It was a swift sword fight and Syn had made it difficult as he only used one had and continuously swapped in a successful attempt to offset Raimundo and his fighting style which had to constantly be adjusted to suit Syn's sword hand. Many times when the Blade of the Nebula had met with Syn's scepter, Syn had simply whisked it away making a full circle with the scepter and striking Raimundo in this confusion. Omi and Chase had persisted in hand to hand combat, which got quite rapid at times where they fought so fast that a spectator would be unable to perceive their exact actions; however, Chase always managed to throw Omi away in the end of these furious spars. Occasionally, Syn and Rai would lock blades during battle and the last time they done this, Synyster got close and hissed at him, "If you do not back down and leave this place I can guarantee that those you love will be hurt, a fate worse than death. Imagine Kimiko, with her mind lost, inside pleading for you but on the outside, cold and dead, incapable of perceiving your appearance" Rai looked devastated, but it got worse. "You know, I think Wuya's keeping an eye on her right now, and as a matter of fact I can send telepathic messages using this scepter"

"AARRRGGHHH!" Raimundo had put all his weight into the blade pushing against Syn, while he smirked. Suddenly he fell to the ground; Syn had backed off, leaving Rai defenceless pushing all his weight forward, down to the marble floor. As he tried to get up a cold blade was met with his neck and a boot on his back, pushing hard and the blade sharp against his neck, drawing a spot of blood. Raimundo looked up to see Chase and Omi fighting. It was intense; in a single stroke Chase and blown Omi across the room, cracking the pillar he was thrown into.

Then something happened that Raimundo hadn't seen in a while. Chase stood tall and focused, and transformed into a monstrous creature, a snout quite large and long with bright white teeth that would challenge a shark; his hands had mutated into lethal claws that matched his jet black mane that started on his head and fell down to lower back, his tail large and heavy with spikes procuring from it. The prince's eyes had went from humanly white with a black iris to feline yellow and a narrow slit pupil. When the transformation was complete, Chase let out a roar that started a chain of roars throughout the entire palace while Syn leant down to Raimundo and whispered to him, "Beautiful isn't it? Such power that a simple potion can grant, a power that you cannot possibly hope to truly defeat. You have never defeated Chase Young; you have merely been a thorn in his side and if you continue, the ones you love will perish at my hand"

Omi had then charged at Chase with his Wudai weapon in full swing, ready to kill; but Chase had other plans, he dodged and flicked Omi into the air with his tail and on the downward he had clenched the monk's throat with his tail and holding it at a distance while examining the Shimo Staff. "Impressive performance young monks; however you lack the power and skill to truly defeat us, and you ought to be willing to kill if you truly want rid of us permanently"

Syn had reached down and helped Raimundo up only to hold him in a vice again, "So here's the deal, we will let you leave now with one of your Shen Gong Wu, the Mantis Flip Coin, and you won't return unless we say otherwise" He had let go of Rai who stood in shock seeing Omi kick his legs violently trying to break free. Just as Omi was whipped away and let free, Raimundo fell to his knees and held his head in his hands while Omi tried to get himself up stroking his bruised head.

Suddenly the scenery had instantaneously changed and the two monks where outside the mouth of the palace. Omi walked over to Rai who was still in shock of their battle, head still in his hands and once Omi got close enough he could hear that he was sobbing; "I'm so sorry Omi, I didn't mean for it to go that badly. Are- are you okay?"

Omi put his hand on Raimundo's arched back and replied with a quivering voice, "Do not fret Raimundo, the enemy is powerful and we are expected to be faced with challenges like this. I am okay, I will make it through. Don't let this get you down, we must keep fighting and never give in to the dark forces"

Rai looked up and said more proudly, "You're right Omi, I'm the leader and I can't be seen in a position of weakness, I gotta up my game and fight until my last breath, with my best friends fighting with me, helping me make the tough decisions and keep a level head, thanks Omi, you're a good friend"

And with that they had left the Land of Nowhere with the Mantis Flip Coin, a small step closer but it was a pity move and they were ready to step up their training and do what is necessary to defeat Synyster and Chase.

Kimiko had woken up to Master Fung over her head and she shot up extremely fast once she fully came to. The rest of the monks and Dojo had gathered round, even Master Monk Guan was present, using a crutch, but still there for moral support. "Easy now Kimiko" Master Fung had said gently, "You had fallen quite hard, the shock of whatever happened must have mentally affected you a lot, and the explosion may have caused some physical injury too"

"Explosion?!" Squealed Kimiko, shooting up to her feet.

"Relax Kimiko, everything is fine now and you are safe. I will not ask you about what you were even doing at Jack Spicer's house in the first place until you have rested up" Master Fung had said before standing up and walking out of the room.

"There was an explosion?" Kimiko had said, in a sorrowful tone of surprise. Hanging her head as she remembered some of what happened; she got up and began to walk away, before stopped by Raimundo. "Is everything okay Kim? I know we were all pretty beat up after the showdown in Chicago but to do something as bold as this." He looked concerned while staring into her eyes, while Dojo was talking to Omi behind his back "He's one to talk, coming home from somewhere covered in bruises and scars, you and him both"

"I'm fine Rai, I'll tell you about it later, okay?" She pushed his hand away from her shoulders and walked on out of the room while Clay, Omi and Dojo left too; mentioning food; but Guan and Raimundo stayed behind and gave each other piercing looks. "Meet me in the vault room tonight at nine, it appears we have much to discuss"


End file.
